Tampa Bay Previews Future With Clayton, Simms

NEW ORLEANS -- Michael Clayton grew up in Baton Rouge, La., played youth sports and prep sports and even college sports there, capping a storybook homegrown story by helping lead LSU to a national championship last season.

"Baton Rouge, pretty much, was all I ever knew," Clayton said.

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came calling in the first round of the NFL draft last April, it was time for Clayton to start calling Florida home. It turned out, however, that he had no family or friends in his new digs; just bigger phone bills.

But a funny thing happened about the time minicamp rolled around. The rookie wide receiver found someone he could talk to, someone he could hang with, someone he could confide in, someone he could lean on.

Now, Michael Clayton's relationship with Chris Simms figures to last a long time.

"We seemed to click from Day 1 for a reason," said Simms, the second-year quarterback, who will make his NFL starting debut today when the Bucs (0-4) try to crack the win column against the New Orleans Saints (2-2) in the din of the Superdome. "We both want to be good. We're both competitors, both willing to work hard to get where we want to go."

It just so happens that their first really big test alongside one another will come an hour from where Clayton became a household name due to his exploits -- 182 receptions, 2,582 yards and 21 touchdowns -- in helping lead the state's beacon of athletic pride back to national prominence.

"I think there's about 55 of us coming," said father Milton Clayton, who saw every one of his son's games at Christian Life Academy in the state capital city, a little more than a hour from the Superdome. "Just look for the `Clayton's Crew' T-shirts and No. 80 jerseys."

Simms, without question, will be looking for the latter. Coach Jon Gruden pulled the trigger in benching Brad Johnson, the Bucs' starter for all but three games the past three seasons, because he thinks Simms can pump some juice into an offense that has scored just three touchdowns in four games. The offseason plan of plugging some holes with 30-something veterans has backfired to date because of injuries (Joey Galloway and Charlie Garner), a holdout (Keenan McCardell) and players not yet performing to expectations (offensive linemen Matt Stinchcomb and Todd Steussie).

Last week, Clayton had a breakout game in catching four passes for 91 yards, including a highlight-reel 51-yard touchdown, and in doing so kept veterans Tim Brown and Bill Schroeder -- two more free-agent acquisitions -- on the sideline most of the game.

Now, enter the 24-year-old Simms, a third-round pick in 2003. Along with 22-year-old Clayton, the Bucs can preview the future while trying to invigorate the present.

Clayton was asked, given his big game last Sunday, what advice he'd give his roommate before taking the field.

"Take off!" Clayton said.

The move by Gruden makes perfect sense. After all, the worst the Simms-led Bucs can do is lose -- and they've done that every week anyway.

"What are you going to do, wait till Year 5 to put him out there?" Gruden said.

"I think he needs to go out there with his teammates in a tough situation. I've seen young guys in the same situation take the bull by the horns. That's what we're looking for."

It may be what they're looking for, but it's not what Tampa Bay had in mind entering the season with a veteran-laced roster that was the oldest in the NFL. To a man, the Bucs love Johnson and respect how he helped them win Super Bowl XXXVII two seasons ago. But they understand why Gruden has chosen to shake things up.

Clearly, however, the elder statesmen in the clubhouse don't want to hear any talk of the organization already looking to 2005 and beyond.

"He's a good guy to roll with," linebacker Derrick Brooks said of Simms. "We're trying to pull ourselves out of an 0-4 hole, and we can only do it this week in this ballgame, so that's where our energy needs to be focused."

Said defensive tackle Anthony McFarland: "Yeah, I have an opinion, but I'll keep it to myself. Coach has made a decision and we're going to stand behind him. Chris has to go out there and do what it takes to give us a chance to win. That being said, we have to help him. You can't say this is Chris Simms against the Saints. We're the Buccaneers. Obviously, he's going to be under more scrutiny -- the eyes are going to be on him -- but that's the nature of football."

The son of Phil Simms, the former New York Giants star and MVP of Super Bowl XXI, has been preparing himself for this his entire life.

"Did I think I'd get my first start this quickly? I don't know," Simms said. "But it's here, and nonetheless I'm ready. It's a great day. It's a long way from the last pick of the third round. I'm excited to get out there and show everybody what I've got."